Agroforestry for Soil Conservation

Atangana, Alain; Khasa, Damase; Chang, Scott X.; Degrande, Ann

doi:10.1007/978-94-007-7723-1_9

Cited by 22 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 25 publications

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“…The ecologically-based dynamic integration of trees on farms and in the agricultural landscape diversifies and sustains production for land users at all levels, enhancing food supply, income, health, and environmental sustainability, even in the most industrialized nations [75]. Among these benefits, agroforestry supports food production by enhancing fertility [76,77], controlling soil erosion [78,79], improving water quality [80,81]), and by sequestering substantial quantities of carbon [82,83].…”

Section: Intercropping/agroforestrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Remote Sensing and Cropping Practices: A Review

et al. 2018

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For agronomic, environmental, and economic reasons, the need for spatialized information about agricultural practices is expected to rapidly increase. In this context, we reviewed the literature on remote sensing for mapping cropping practices. The reviewed studies were grouped into three categories of practices: crop succession (crop rotation and fallowing), cropping pattern (single tree crop planting pattern, sequential cropping, and intercropping/agroforestry), and cropping techniques (irrigation, soil tillage, harvest and post-harvest practices, crop varieties, and agro-ecological infrastructures). We observed that the majority of the studies were exploratory investigations, tested on a local scale with a high dependence on ground data, and used only one type of remote sensing sensor. Furthermore, to be correctly implemented, most of the methods relied heavily on local knowledge on the management practices, the environment, and the biological material. These limitations point to future research directions, such as the use of land stratification, multi-sensor data combination, and expert knowledge-driven methods. Finally, the new spatial technologies, and particularly the Sentinel constellation, are expected to improve the monitoring of cropping practices in the challenging context of food security and better management of agro-environmental issues.

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Section: Intercropping/agroforestrymentioning

confidence: 99%

Remote Sensing and Cropping Practices: A Review

et al. 2018

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“…In addition, they offer a number of ecosystem services, socio-economic and environmental benefits 5,6 . The trees also protect the soil from erosion, and improve the productivity and fertility of the soil by adding organic matter [7][8][9][10][11] . Moreover, trees sequester aboveground and belowground carbon, and thus contribute to mitigation of climate change in the long run 2,12,13 .…”

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confidence: 99%

A Paradigm Shift in Agroforestry Practices in Uttar Pradesh

Verma¹,

Bijalwan²,

Dobriyal³

et al. 2017

Current Science

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Agroforestry is a dynamic and sustainable land management system of deliberately growing woody perennials along with agricultural crops on farmlands to secure both tangible and intangible benefits to the farmers. Uttar Pradesh (UP), one of the largest and densely populated state of India in the Indo-Gangetic Plain with large agrarian communities, had a paradigm shift in the adoption of agroforestry. After successful adoption and commercialization of poplar and eucalyptus-based agroforestry models over two decades in western UP, other parts of central and eastern UP have also been attracted towards remunerative agroforestry projects in the past few years. In UP, agroforestry practices vary according to different agro-climatic zones, land capability and socio-economic status of farmers. The variation is reflected in terms of diversity in agroforestry practices, and comparative advantage prompted a renewed interest to harness the vivid potential. Drawing on the representative literature, we have reviewed the status and pattern of treecrop combinations of agroforestry practices across various regions of the state as well as productivity under different agroforestry systems, which shows traditional agriculture transforming to multifunctional agroforestry in UP.

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“…Dispersed trees serve as construction material, source of energy and income. Trees on agricultural fields have also been advocated to replenish the declining soil fertility (Glover et al 2012) and protect soil against degradation (Atangana et al 2014). They help in climate change mitigation and adaptation ) and improve agroecosystem resilience (Jacobi et al 2015).…”

Section: Tree-based Systems As a Starting Point For Sustainable Intenmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…We then need to focus on locally specific mitigation (or at least adaptation) strategies. Scattered trees sequester carbon (Nair et al 2010) and protect soil organic carbon from being released to the atmosphere (Gindaba et al 2005;Atangana et al 2014), hence providing climate mitigation options that are within the reaches of poor smallholders. In addition to their roles in mitigation, scattered trees help to sustain many ecosystem services such as increasing species diversity (Brussaard et al 2010;Kalaba et al 2010), enhancing wildlife habitats (Lovell et al 2010), fostering natural food webs (Maas et al 2013), fostering water infiltration and improving soil and ecosystem health (Garrity et al 2010;Nair et al 2010).…”

Section: Role In Mitigation and Adaptation To Climate Changementioning

confidence: 99%

“…The role of scattered trees within crop fields in environmental sustainability has been unambiguously established and discussed in earlier sections. These trees were reported to enhance almost all components of environmental sustainability such as biodiversity and soil conservation(van Noordwijk et al 1995;Atangana et al 2014). None of the results in Chapter 2, Chapter 3 and Chapter 4 reported negative effects of scattered trees on these variables of 'ecological sustainability'.…”

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Sustainable intensification of smallholder farming systems in Ethiopia : what roles can scattered trees play?

Sida

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Scattered trees dominate smallholder agricultural landscapes in Ethiopia, as in large parts of sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). While the integration of scattered trees with crops could provide a viable pathway for sustainable intensification of these farming systems, they also lead to tradeoffs. Trade-off minimization and benefit maximization from these trees in the system require the processes that underlie tree-crop interactions to be unravelled. This study explored treebased pathways for the sustainable intensification (SI) smallholder crop production systems in contrasting agroecologies of Ethiopia. Combination of methodologies from agronomy, socioeconomics and conservation sciences were utilized to understand the potential roles of scattered trees in smallholder farming systems. Results indicated that farmers maintained on-farm trees because of their direct timber, fencing, fuelwood, and charcoal production values, regardless of their effect on crop productivity. A trade-off analysis revealed that economic gains from trees were not large enough to compensate for tree-induced crop yield penalties in tree-crop mixed farming systems. Under farmers' practices, most scattered trees generally had a significant negative effect on maize yield. For example, mean maize grain yields were 59%, 42% and 26% less under the canopies of Cordia africana, Croton macrostachyus and Acacia tortilis, respectively, compared with corresponding open field yields. The yield reductions dropped to as low as 5% under 'good agronomic practices', such as early planting, variety selection, improved weed management, fine seedbed preparation and higher rates of nitrogen fertilizer.Similar yield reduction was observed in maize under the canopy of Grevillea robusta. Application of nitrogen and phosphorus fertilizers to under canopy maize in Grevillea robustaand Acacia tortilis improved crop yields, compared with non-fertilized maize under the canopies of these tree species. However, recommended rates of nitrogen and phosphorus vi fertilizers produced significantly less maize yields compared with the open fields. Faidherbia albida is an exceptional scattered tree species that improved soil water, nitrogen and phosphorus use efficiencies, leading to significantly higher yields in wheat gunder tree crown. Available N was 35-55% larger close to the crowns of Faidherbia compared with open fields, apparently contributing as much as 64 kg ha -1 yr -1 mineral N. In addition, this tree significantly reduced photosynthetically active radiation (PAR), reaching the canopy to optimum levels for wheat growth and development. Under the crowns, midday temperature was about 6 o C less compared with nearby open fields. Regardless of the triple-win effects (crop production, adaptation and mitigation) of this tree species, over-utilization caused tree population decline. Under the current management, Faidherbia population would decline to a critical density of less than one tree ha -1 within six decades. The current study underlined that conservation of scattered trees ...

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Agroforestry for Soil Conservation

Cited by 22 publications

References 25 publications

Remote Sensing and Cropping Practices: A Review

Remote Sensing and Cropping Practices: A Review

A Paradigm Shift in Agroforestry Practices in Uttar Pradesh

Sustainable intensification of smallholder farming systems in Ethiopia : what roles can scattered trees play?

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